What is Youth Council?

Greenville Youth CROSS-CULTURAL Leadership Council (GYCCLC)

Beyond Differences: We bring people, ideas and principles together to create a more progressive and inclusive community. The Greenville Youth Cross-Cultural Leadership Council is the youth component of Beyond Differences. The GYCCLC has two programs; WE Teach and Our Radio. The GYCCLC has two initiatives; STRYVE (Striving to Reduce Youth Violence Everywhere) and the Youth Conflict Intervention. They operate summer camps teaching middle school students in two areas: Character Matters and How to deal with conflict before it becomes violence. The GYCCLC conducts four youth symposiums a year addressing issues and challenges facing youth and their communities. The GYCCLC and Youth from Greenville Family Partnership sponsor the largest Cross-Cultural Youth Summit in Greenville County. An individual donation of $28.00 helps to support our programs and our initiatives. Become Part of the Beyond Differences' "I Am " campaign and make a difference in Our community. Go to beyonddifferences.com. or mail your donation to BD, P.O. Box 5771, Greenville, SC 29606.

While interviewing youth in the Greenville, SC area, the cultural knowledge between groups is not part of the integrated process, which may be an indication of the general youth population in middle and high schools. For example, outside of sports, there is little or no cross-cultural contact between minority and white youth. Of fifteen black teenagers interviewed, no one had ever been to a white teenager’s house after school. Furthermore, of the fifteen black teenagers interviewed, no one had ever invited a white teenager to their home. Another aspect of interviews with black teenagers is that although they acknowledged that even though white teenagers purchase Hip-Hop music, there are very seldom integrated venues. In addition, noticeable in these interviews is the lack of discussion regarding race or race related issues during these teenagers’ elementary and middle school years. However, in some local high schools there are some new cross-cultural programs available. The incident at Clemson University where white students had a “theme party” offended some black students (see attached). The GYCCLC project will attempt to fill this void.

Objective

To educate the youth of Greenville County between the ages of 14-18 years of age about the value of cross-cultural relations

To foster on-going understanding of differences

To embrace cultural differences to build productive relationships and to dismantle barriers in the community that limits social interaction and growth.

The GYCCLC will aim to improve communications as it relates to race, class, and ethnicity

To address or to introduce diversity with youth at this stage of development will influence and help shape the future of race relations in Greenville County

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